A Fragile Shell or Kin of Aspen and Hawk
by Rednight -also on Warriors
Summary: A fragile Shell can be stronger than the greatest Storm, and so the kin of Aspen and Hawk will banish the Storm which threatens the Clans.
1. Allegiances and Prologue

ThunderClan

Leader: Hawkstar - dark brown tabby tom with golden eyes. (formerly Hawktail, 5 lives)

Deputy: Tanglefire - gray and black tabby tom with bright amber eyes  
Apprentice: Rockpaw

Medicine Cat: Wildclaw - ginger tabby tom with blue eyes and long claws.

Warriors:

Swifttalon - brown tabby she-cat with white paws and pale blue eyes

Raineyes - blue-gray tabby tom with white on his underbelly and blue eyes

Thornfur - dark brown tom with amber eyes  
Apprentice: Sandpaw

Fuzzytail - black tom with fluffy tail and green eyes  
Apprentice: Dawnpaw

Mudmask - white she-cat with brown splotches on her face and back and brown eyes

Loudface - Gray tabby tom with white on his face and blue eyes  
Apprentice: Spottedpaw

Bramblestorm - brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Mossfoot - silvery tabby she-cat with green eyes

Leopardears - light ginger tabby she-cat with golden eyes

Scarpelt - black tom with blue eyes and a white line like a scar down his back  
Apprentice: Icepaw

Brightnose - ginger she-cat with white on her muzzle and green eyes

Runningheart - blue-gray tabby tom with white on his chest and blue eyes

Apprentices:

Sandpaw - ginger she-cat with green eyes

Dawnpaw - tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green-yellow eyes

Icepaw - pure white she-cat with black paws and dark blue eyes

Spottedpaw - white tom with black spots and feet, with amber eyes

Rockpaw - dark gray tom with amber eyes

Kits:

Redkit - ginger tabby she-cat with slightly darker fur on her belly and green eyes  
(Parents: Brightnose & Hawkstar)

Mousekit - pale brown tabby tom with black paws and blue eyes  
(Parents: Brightnose & Hawkstar)

Tigerkit - dark brown tabby tom with golden eyes  
(Parents: Brightnose & Hawkstar)

Flowerkit - white, black, brown and ginger calico she-cat with green-and-yellow-sunburst eyes  
(Parents: Thornfur & Leopardears)

Thunderkit - Dark brown tom with white paws and tail-tip and stormy blue eyes  
(Parents: Thornfur & Leopardears)

Tawnykit - Light brown and ginger tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes  
(Parents: Thornfur & Leopardears)

Shellkit - white she-cat with slightly visible ginger stripes and blue eyes.  
(Parents: Thornfur & Leopardears)

Elders:

Clawbelly - pale ginger tom with a scar on his belly and dull green eyes

RiverClan

Leader: Timberstar - large, dark brown tom with green eyes and white paws

Deputy: Duskshine - light brown she-cat with green eyes

Medicine Cat: Blazefang - dark ginger tom with amber eyes.  
Apprentice: Stormpaw

Warriors:

Cloudshadow - White tom with blue eyes and black on his tail and paws.  
Apprentice: Streampaw

Ashmist - dark gray she-cat with pale blue eyes

Poppybreeze - white she-cat with black and ginger patches and blue eyes.

Briarflower - dark ginger, brown, and white calico she-cat with green eyes  
Apprentice: Cherrypaw

Smokebreath - dark gray tom with blue eyes

Ratstalker - light brown tom with yellow eyes

Barkpath - Dark brown tabby tom with black legs and amber eyes

Weaselcry - dark ginger and white she-cat with blue eyes

Antleg - light brown tom with long, black legs and brown eyes  
Apprentice: Hollypaw

Reedsky - light brown she-cat with darker stripes and blue eyes

Nettlepool - pale gray she-cat with darker stripes and blue eyes

Fawnflight - brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes and white splotches.

Apprentices:

Cherrypaw - pale ginger she-cat with white paws and green eyes

Hollypaw - black she-cat with green eyes

Streampaw - blue-gray tabby tom with blue eyes and white paws

Stormpaw - dark gray, thick-furred tom with stormy blue eyes

WindClan

Leader: Larkstar - light brown tabby she-cat with white on her chest and belly and blue eyes

Deputy: Jayhead - pale gray tom with blue eyes and white on his chest.

Medicine Cat: Shiningfern - white she-cat with bright ginger patches and black on her tail, green eyes

Warriors:

Flickerwish - calico she-cat with yellow-sunburst eyes

Blacksayer - black tom with green eyes and white on his muzzle  
Apprentice: Tornpaw

Graywing - light gray tabby she-cat with white legs and pale green eyes

Lionstep - golden-brown tabby tom with golden eyes

Badgerstripe - black tom with white on his belly and paws and forehead, blue eyes

Sunwhisker - bright ginger tabby tom with yellow-green eyes  
Apprentice: Emberpaw

Otterfall - dark brown tabby tom with white on his underbelly and blue eyes

Leafdawn - light brown tabby she-cat with white paws and bright amber eyes

Spiderscale - black and brown tabby tom with strange markings around his paws and light brown eyes  
Apprentice: Shrewpaw

Honeystream - light brown she-cat with white paws and tail-tip and bright blue eyes

Blossomleaf - white she-cat with very pale ginger patches and leaf-green eyes  
Apprentice: Ferretpaw

Rowantooth - dark ginger tabby tom with brown eyes

Apprentices:

Shrewpaw - dark brown tom with white on his belly, paws and tail-tip, green eyes

Tornpaw - black and white tom with a splash of white on one ear

Ferretpaw - brown she-cat with white on her chest and underbelly, white splotches on her face, blue eyes

Emberpaw - dark ginger tabby she-cat with green eyes

ShadowClan

Leader: Ravenstar - black she-cat with a splash on white on her chest and blue eyes

Deputy: Bluefire - dark, blue-gray tom with white on his underbelly and pale amber eyes

Medicine Cat: Moonfrost - Light gray she-cat with white on her belly and paws, light blue eyes

Warriors:

Pebbleblaze - light brown she-cat with ginger patches and green eyes  
Apprentice: Fernpaw

Robinthroat - Light brown she-cat with a splash of ginger across her chest

Darkpoppy - black she-cat with bright gold eyes and white spots

Squirrelfoot - dark ginger tom with white on one leg and green eyes

Cloudsun - thick-furred white tom with dark orange eyes  
Apprentice: Whitepaw

Goosescar - light brown tom with white on his underbelly and a dark scar across his face

Shadecloud - dark gray tabby she-cat with white splotches and yellow eyes

Flamenight - ginger tabby tom with almost-black stripes and dark blue eyes  
Apprentice: Ivypaw

Sagewater - light ginger tabby she-cat with pale blue eyes

Mountainsong - brown tabby she-cat with white on her throat and blue eyes

Addersplash - light brown tabby tom with dark stripes and dark brown eyes, with a white dash across his chest.  
Apprentice: Longpaw

Talonclaw - dark brown tom with long claws and dark green eyes

Apprentices:

Whitepaw - snowy-white she-cat with blue eyes and black spots on her belly

Fernpaw - white she-cat with black patches and green eyes

Longpaw - pale brown tabby tom with dark stripes and a long tail, pale blue eyes

Ivypaw - pale gray tabby tom with white on his belly and green eyes

Prologue

_A ginger tabby tom opened his blue eyes to find himself on the Island where the Clans gathered each full moon. He flexed his long, black claws in anticipation and waited. After a moment, starry figures began appearing before him, forming the cats who had gone before him. StarClan was ready to speak with him. The ginger tom waited until a white she-cat with pale ginger patches and bright green eyes stepped forward and greeted him. "Welcome, Wildclaw."_

_Wildclaw dipped his great head. "Why have you summoned me, Aspenstar?" he asked. "It is not yet half-moon."_

_Aspenstar heaved a sigh. "Great changes are coming for ThunderClan," she responded. "As well as all the other Clans of the Lake." She glanced at the cats around her. "One cat poses a threat to all four Clans, and as usual, ThunderClan has the cat who can save them."_

_The vision changed and Wildclaw was sitting beside Aspenstar, former leader of ThunderClan, watching a raging battle take place on ThunderClan territory. He could scent all four Clans there, but he could see that there were more than just the four Clans fighting. One cat he didn't recognize seemed to be the leader of at least part of the fighting cats. He was a large, dark gray tom with thunderous blue eyes, and he had huge paws and long black claws. He was fighting with various cats, either killing them or sending them running away. Until one small she-cat stepped forward to confront him, her pale ginger stripes flashing menacingly in the sunlight. She fought him, pushing him back toward the edges of WindClan territory where he came from. Aspenstar whispered in Wildclaw's ear,_"A fragile shell can be stronger than the greatest Storm, and so the kin of Aspen and Hawk will banish the Storm which threatens the Clans."

The ginger tabby medicine cat woke with a start as a ginger queen came yowling into his den. "What is it Brightnose?" he grumped. "Why do you wake me at Moonhigh?"

"Leopardears' kits are coming," Brightnose panted. _"Now!"_

Wildclaw's ear twitched as he gathered various herbs and trotted across the camp to the Nursery. Leopardears, Aspenstar's daughter, was kitting! Just after he received that ominous dream too. He could only remember the prophecy: _A fragile Shell can be stronger than the greatest Storm, and so the kin of Aspen and Hawk will banish the Storm which threatens the Clans._

This night, Leopardears, daughter of Aspenstar, and Thornfur, son of Hawkstar, had kits. Wildclaw pondered what this could mean as he helped the light ginger, almost brown, tabby queen give birth. After dawn had come, four kits had been born. Wildclaw sent Brightnose to fetch Thornfur. The kits sleeping in Brightnose's nest were Thornfur's younger siblings, Mousekit, Tigerkit and Redkit. When the dark brown father of the newest litter arrived, Wildclaw retreated to a corner of the den so he could hear the names the queen would give her kits.

Thornfur licked Leopardears' ear affectionately, sitting beside her. There were three she-kits and one tom in this litter. The tom was a dark brown cat like his father, with white paws and tail-tip. The first she-cat was a calico, the second a light tortoiseshell, and the last a white she-cat with barely visible ginger stripes. She reminded the parents of the late Aspenstar. "The tom should be Thunderkit," muttered Thornfur.

"Alright," agreed Leopardears, too tired to care very much. "And the tortoiseshell Tawnykit."

"Then the calico can be Flowerkit, and the white one Daisykit?"

"No," Leopardears disagreed. Wildclaw's whiskers twitched in amusement. Thunderkit and Tawnykit were good names. "We shouldn't have _two _kits who are named after flowers!"

"Then Flowerkit and Shellkit?" Thornfur suggested. "If you look closely you can see that the white one has very pale ginger stripes, like that shell that Poppybreeze showed us at the last gathering."

Leopardears purred. "Alright," she meowed. "Flowerkit and Shellkit it is!"

Wildclaw smiled, then quietly left the Nursery, heading for his own den to get a little more sleep. Hawkstar, meanwhile, was heading for the Nursery to see his grandchildren. By sunhigh, the whole Clan had met Thunderkit, Tawnykit, Flowerkit and Shellkit.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A white she-kit lay on her belly outside the Nursery, her pale ginger stripes flashing in the sunlight. A deep purr was rising from her chest, and she flipped onto her back to warm her belly. Suddenly, something big crashed into her, sending her flying. She opened her eyes wide, hissing, springing to her paws. When her blue eyes found her attacker, she relaxed slightly. "Don't you have anything better to do than terrorize me, Tawnykit?" she teased.

"Nope," replied a light tortoiseshell she-kit. Her sister. The tortoiseshell's pale green eyes glinted mischieviously. "Why aren't you playing with the rest of them?" she asked, flicking her tail in the direction of a group of kits.

The white kit shrugged. "I didn't feel like it," she replied. She grinnged. "Of course, you couldn't let me in peace, could you, Tawnykit?"

Tawnykit laughed. "Nope!" she cried, flinging herself at her smaller sister. The two she-kits tussled for a moment in the sand, then Tawnykit pinned her sister down. The white kit was struggling furiously. "Give up, Shellkit!" Tawnykit demanded. "I'm bigger than you! There's no way you can beat me!"

"Never!" spat Shellkit playfully, kicking Tawnykit's stomach viciously with her hind paws.

Tawnykit yelped in astonishment as she tumbled over her sister's head and landed in the dirt. Shellkit leapt on her and pinned her, holding her sister's light brown ear lightly in her jaw. She put her forepaw on Tawnykit's neck. "I surrender!" gasped Tawnykit between giggles.

Shellkit purred, laughing as well, and let her up. "Well done, Shellkit!" came a gentle voice. Shellkit turned to see a white apprentice and a ginger apprentice smiling at her from where they were eating outside the Apprentice's den. It was the white she-cat who had spoken. She was pure white, with black paws and dark blue eyes.

"Thanks, Icepaw," Shellkit purred, glad some cats had noticed her victory.

Icepaw smiled and nodded, while the other apprentice, a ginger she-cat with green eyes, chuckled. "I'm glad you're on my side, Shellkit," she meowed. "You're gonna make a wicked little warrior one day, despite your size!"

Shellkit purred. "Didn't I do a good job, Sandpaw?" asked Tawnykit anxiously.

Sandpaw laughed. "Of course, Tawnykit," she meowed.

"You're a good fighter," added Icepaw kindly. "But you let Shellkit use her size to her advantage. Next time, you should try something more like this..." Icepaw came over and began showing Tawnykit some battle moves. Shellkit exchanged a grin with Sandpaw, then turned and made her way over to the other kits.

"How's it going, Shellkit?" asked a dark brown tabby kit, much bigger than herself. He looked about 5 moons. He had bright, golden eyes that were filled with warmth.

"I'm fine, Tigerkit," she answered. "Thanks. Tawnykit just attacked me, but I beat her, and now she's run off to get some tips from Icepaw."

A ginger she-kit laughed, bending to lick her dark belly. "Tawnykit looks up to Icepaw so much," she meowed.

"Don't I know it!" Shellkit chuckled.

"Redkit," called a dark brown tom with white paws and tail-tip. The ginger kit turned. Shellkit muttered a greeting to her only brother. "Redkit," he meowed after nodding to Shellkit, his stormy blue eyes never leaving the pretty ginger kit's face. "Can you come show Mousekit that move? He doesn't believe me when I say it's powerful enough to beat him."

Redkit laughed. "Sure, Thunderkit," she meowed, following him over to a pale brown tabby tom, her brother Mousekit.

Meanwhile, another she-kit had padded up, coming from the direction of the medicine den. She had a white, black, brown and ginger patterned calico pelt, with white on her underside. Her green and yellow sunburst eyes were dancing. "Hey, Flowerkit," purred Shellkit, greeting her other sister. "Has Wildclaw said anything about making you his apprentice?"

"Not yet," Flowerkit answered, sitting down and grooming her pelt. "But you can tell that he enjoys my company and my help. When we get closer to our sixth moon, I'll ask him."

Shellkit nodded. The many ThunderClan kits played in the hollow for a while, then a light ginger tabby queen got up from where she'd been sharing tongues with a dark brown warrior and took charge. "Alright," she meowed. "Brightnose won't be back from hunting for a while, but that doesn't mean you don't have to go to sleep, Tigerkit, Mousekit, Redkit." She looked at them with a stern, golden gaze.

"But we don't have to go yet, do we, Leopardears?" begged Mousekit.

"Please, mama," begged Tawnykit. "Can't we ask Clawbelly to tell us just one story?"

"Please?" the other kits chorused.

Leopardears looked thoughtful. "Alright," she consented. The kits cheered. "But one story!" she added. "And then bed!"

"Alright!" chirped Shellkit, leading the way to the elder's den.

Under the cover of the brush, a pale ginger tom, whose muzzle was shot through with gray, was eating a plump woodmouse. He turned over as the kits came in, revealing a long, jagged scar that crossed his belly. "Well, well, well," he muttered. "To what do I owe the visit of such a large group? I don't suppose you're going to clean my fur of ticks, are you?"

Shellkit laughed. "We were wondering if you'd tell us a story, Clawbelly," Redkit meowed.

"Could you tell us the one about Hawkfrost and Brambleclaw?" begged Mousekit.

Flowerkit prodded him with a paw. "No," she argued. "Let's hear the one about the Great Journey."

Tawnykit frowned indignantly. "We heard that one yesterday, Flowerkit!" she protested. "I wanna hear about Feathertail and Stonefur and the Tribe of Rushing Water!"

The group of kits began to argue, each one demanding a different story. "I wanna hear about Firestar and Scourge!"

"No! Graystripe! Graystripe!"

"Let's hear about the beginning of the Clans! Please?"

After a few moments, Clawbelly growled for silence. "How about I tell you about SkyClan?" he suggested.

Shellkit was confused. What was SkyClan? The others must have been confused too, because Clawbelly chuckled. "You all know that there are four living Clans in the forest," he meowed. "And that we come from the Ancient Clans of LionClan, TigerClan and LeopardClan. LionClan gives us our love of the sun, and the sense of kinship. We must thank TigerClan for our night-hunting abilities, and we all know that LeopardClan give us our speed. You know that there are four Clans now; ThunderClan, RiverClan, WindClan and ShadowClan, and we follow our warrior ancestors of StarClan. But what you may not know is that once, long, long ago, there was a fifth Clan in the forest.

"This Clan was known as SkyClan. They had lived in the Old Forest with the other Clans, even long before the Great Journey, long before Firestar came to the forest, and long before Bluestar's Prophecy. They lived on the edge of ThunderClan and ShadowClan territory. Until one day, Twolegs came and destroyed their territory, forcing them to ask the other Clans for shelter. But it was the middle of leaf-bare, and no Clan had the room or prey for more cats. The leaders of the other four Clans, Redstar of ThunderClan, Swiftstar of WindClan, Birchstar of RiverClan and Dawnstar of ShadowClan decided that SkyClan must leave the forest. So the leader, Cloudstar, turned his back on StarClan and led his warriors to another place."

Shellkit's eyes widened. "He turned his back on StarClan?" she gasped. "How could any cat do something like that?"

Thunderkit told her to hush. "He thought StarClan had abandoned them," Clawbelly replied. "It was a long journey, but eventually they came to a gorge with caves in the wall that became dens. Most of us forest cats would not be able to live in this gorge without destroying our paw pads, but SkyClan had rock-hard pads and strong hind legs for jumping. SkyClan had found a new home. Sadly, it was not to last, for there was a colony of rats living nearby who wanted the cats out of the gorge. There was a fierce battle, and the Clan broke apart, the survivors becoming rogues or kittypets. Some cats tried to carry on the memory.

"Then, many seasons later, Firestar came along. He did not have blood tainted by the memory of the Clan cats who had banished SkyClan, and so the spirit of Cloudstar came to him, begging him to help his lost Clan. So Firestar and his mate, Sandstorm, journeyed to the gorge and began looking for the decendants of SkyClan. They met an old tom who was the last living memory of SkyClan; Sky. He had been named in honor of his mother's ancestor's Clan, and Firestar gave him the name Skywatcher later on. Firestar gathered all the descendants he could, and, finally, he had a Clan. But it was hard, because though he soon found the cat destined to be medicine cat, he did not know who StarClan wanted to be SkyClan's leader. And meanwhile, he did not know about the rats, until a patrol returned after having seen them.

"Firestar prepared SkyClan for battle, and in the end they killed the lead rat, chasing the others away. Then, the medicine cat received a sign from StarClan, and she and Firestar went with one warrior, Leafdapple, to the SkyRock, where she received nine lives and her name, Leafstar, from her ancestors.

"And that," concluded Clawbelly, "Was how SkyClan was restored, but that is certainly not the end of their tale. The rest we'll save for another time."

Shellkit groaned with the others, but obediantly returned to the Nursery. Shellkit fell asleep thinking about SkyClan and what happened to them after Firestar and Sandstorm left.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A dark brown tabby tom stepped out of his den on the Highledge. He shook his pelt and sat on the edge, gazing into camp from his vintage point. A little white she-kit glanced up at him from where she was playing catch with a slightly bigger tortoiseshell she-cat. The amber gaze of the dark tabby met her sparkling blue eyes for a split second, just as the sunlight fell on her pelt, making her pale ginger stripes flash, then he leaped down and sat beside a gray and black tabby tom. The dark brown tom was her grandfather and leader, Hawkstar. The tabby warrior was his deputy Tanglefire.

The white she-kit turned and trotted after the tortoiseshell she-kit who was greeting two apprentices who'd just returned from dawn patrol. "Wait up Tawnykit!" she called as she stumbled slightly, then picked up her speed and nearly crashed into the dark gray apprentice. He glared at her. "It's a good thing you're so small," he growled. "Otherwise I'd shred your pelt." As he got a good look at her, he narrowed his eyes and chuckled darkly. "You're no bigger than a pebble, kit. How old are you, 2 moons?"

The other apprentice, a tortoiseshell she-cat with pale green eyes, scolded him. "You should be nicer to your future denmates," she reprimanded. "Shellkit here happens to be already becoming a good fighter; once she's an apprentice you'd better watch your back!" She glared at him as he retreated to the Apprentice's den, then turned to Shellkit. "Sorry about Rockpaw," she meowed. "He's a little grumpy 'cause he got in trouble for not paying attention during patrol this morning."

Shellkit shrugged, trying not to look too hurt. "That's fine, Dawnpaw," she mewed, trying to make her voice sound confident. "See ya' later, Tawnykit," she muttered to her sister, then bounded away into the shadows behind the Nursery. She sat there for a moment, trying to hold back her tears. Then she felt red-hot anger rising in her. How dare Rockpaw make fun of her size? She was big enough to do whatever she wanted to! She'd show him, she'd run into the forest and catch a mouse on her own. The white kit got to her paws and snuck around the edged of the camp, dashing out of the entrance while the brown and white she-cat who was guarding it had her back turned. She ran in no direction, just ahead. Before long, she was lost. She knew it, but she didn't want to admit it. She kept heading straight down hill until the trees began to thin out.

Ahead, where the light shown into the forest, she could the the faint blue outline of the lake. She made a dash for it and skidded to a stop on the shore, spraying pebbles up around her. She sat there, gazing miserably into the lake. She was small. She couldn't even remember the way back to camp! While she was feeling sorry for herself, a thump sounded behind her, and she turned just in time to see a tortoiseshell she-kit crashing into her. "Tawnykit!" she squealed, pushing her sister off her. "Why did you follow me?" she shook her head to clear it and looked past Tawnykit to see her brother, Thunderkit, had come to.

"I was worried about you, Shellkit," Tawnykit replied, her pale green eyes wide. "I told Thunderkit what Rockpaw had said and how you'd run off, and he suggested we follow you."

Shellkit looked at her brother. He was large, broad-shouldered and wide-pawed, about the size of an apprentice. His stormy blue eyes met hers and he shrugged. "I thought you'd left camp," he meowed. "And I was right. Let's head back."

Shellkit nodded and followed her brother into the forest. She could tell he was following their scent-trail back, and felt safe with him until they reached a huge Oak-tree that seemed to reach the sky. "That must be the Sky Oak," she muttered. Thunderkit nodded. She could remember rushing past a wide oak, but she hadn't stopped to look at it properly. She watched as Thunderkit sniffed around, looking for the scent again. "Have you lost it?" she whispered. His stormy eyes glanced up and met her frightened blue ones.

"We'll just have to wait here," he mewed. "Leopardears is sure to notice that we're missing soon." Shellkit nodded, but didn't say anything. Tawnykit leaned closer to Thunderkit, looking frightened.

Meanwhile, back at camp, Thunderkit was right. Leopardears had just woken up and noticed that only Flowerkit was still in camp. "Thunderkit?" she called, bursting out of the Nursery. "Tawnykit? Shellkit!" Her mews awakened Dawnpaw and Sandpaw, and Thornfur soon came rushing out of his den at his mate's cries.

"What's wrong, Leopardears?" asked a silvery-gray tabby queen.

"My kits!" Leopardears cried in panick, while Thornfur pressed his side against her flank, trying to comfort her. "I'd closed my eyes for less than a heartbeat, and when I woke up, they were gone!" Her panicked eyes met the tabby's green ones. "Help me find them, Mossfoot!" she begged.

Mossfoot murmured soothingly to the distraught queen. "I'll look for them, don't worry," she meowed.

"Come on, Leopardears," meowed Thornfur. "Let's look in camp."

Mossfoot turned to Sandpaw and Dawnpaw. "Get the other apprentices and search the dens," she ordered. "I'll get tell Hawkstar and Tanglefire." The ginger and tortoiseshell apprentices nodded and bounded into their den. The silvery tabby warrior trotted to the Highledge and scrambled up. "Hawkstar?" she called tentatively into the den.

"Come in, Mossfoot," came the reply. She entered the leader's den. The big brown tom was sitting beside Raineyes and Tanglefire. She dipped her head to the senior warrior, deputy and leader. "Leopardears' kits are missing," she reported. "I had Dawnpaw and the other apprentices search camp, but I still think we should send a search party out to look for them."

Hawkstar nodded, getting to his paws. "Tanglefire," he meowed, turning to his deputy. "Take Mudmask and Bramblestorm and search as far as the WindClan border. Mossfoot, you can go with Raineyes and Runningheart as far as the Lake, and have Fuzzytail, Scarpelt and Icepaw go search towards the ShadowClan border."

The three warriors nodded and turned out of the den. Tanglefire called out to the cats in his patrol, then summoned Fuzzytail and told his what to do, while Raineyes signaled to Runningheart and led him and Mossfoot into the forest, filling in the tabby warrior on the way. Mossfoot took in a deep breath and, finding the kit-scent, took the lead, heading towards the thinner forest by the lake. The ancient oak, Sky Oak, loamed ahead of them and they came to a halt as they saw the three kits racing eachother around the wide trunk. Mossfoot breathed out in relief and glanced up at the sky. It was nearing sunset, and the kits had gone missing just after sunhigh!

The three warriors called to the kits. The smallest, a white she-cat with blue eyes, turned and flattened her ears in guilt, padding over to the warriors. The other two saw and followed. "Where have you been!" Mossfoot scolded. "Leopardears has been worried sick!"

The white she-cat shivered and Mossfoot blinked as a patch of sunlight shone on her pelt, making pale ginger stripes flash. "It was my fault," she admitted. Raineyes exchanged a glance with Mossfoot. "Rockpaw insulted me," she explained. "And I ran away. Tawnykit and Thunderkit followed me." Mossfoot glanced at the other two kits, a broad-shouldered brown tom and a tortoiseshell she-kit.

"You shouldn't have run away, Shellkit," Mossfoot meowed, her voice softening.

Raineyes bent his head to look at the kits sternly. "You must never leave camp like that again," he ordered firmly. The kits dipped their heads, and Raineyes' gaze softened. "How about we get you back?" They nodded and followed the warriors back to camp.

They arrived just before Sunset. Leopardears raced past the warriors and began licking her kits furiously. "Thank you, Mossfoot," she meowed, glancing at the warriors. "And you, Raineyes. Runningheart."

"Don't worry about it," Raineyes replied. Runningheart nodded. "I'm just glad we found them safely."

Shellkit kept her head bent as Leopardears herded them back to the Nursery and ordered them to go to sleep. She collapsed gratefully into her nest and didn't see as Thunderkit, Tawnykit and Flowerkit gathered around her, but fell into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Shellkit chased Tawnykit around the Nursery, laughing. The bright sunlight shone down on her pelt, and her ginger stripes flashed brightly. Sunhigh in Newleaf was always warm and friendly. Tawnykit skidded to a stop, Shellkit crashing into her. "What's wrong?" she demanded.

"The warriors' den," the tortoiseshell kit replied. Shellkit looked over her sister's shoulder and saw the brambles that sheltered the warriors' den.

"We'd better go and play somewhere else," she whispered, turning away. Tawnykit leapt on her. "No!" she replied. "Let's go in! At this time of day, all the warriors will be out hunting!"

Shellkit looked at her, doubt filling her eyes. "But if we get in trouble again..."

"We won't," promised Tawnykit, who turned and stalked toward the den. "You first," she ordered, shoving Shellkit ahead of her. The den was dark and the floor dappled with sunlight leaking in through the bramble branches. Tawnykit shoved past and Shellkit trotted after her.

"Tawnykit, be careful!" she hissed. Her sister didn't listen, and was hopping around. A deep-throated chuckle came from behind her. "You know you're not supposed to be here, right?"

Shellkit turned, panicking, and found herself staring up at the blue-gray senior warrior called Raineyes. "We're sorry," she muttered, backing out of the den.

"We just wanted to know what it was like in here," laughed Tawnykit coming forward to smile at Raineyes. Suddenly, a huge white paw came out of the darkness and flapped at Tawnykit. "Why're there kits in here," came an elderly voice.

"They aren't doing any harm, Swifttalon," replied Raineyes and a brown she-cat came into a patch of sunlight. Swifttalon snorted. "Tell them to get out of here so I can get back to sleep!" She turned back into the shadows. Raineyes chuckled. "You'd better go," he meowed. "Some of us senior warriors aren't as fond of little kits as I am." He shooed Shellkit and Tawnykit away.

Tawnykit, laughing, raced over to Thunderkit and Redkit, where they were playing with Mousekit and Tigerkit. Shellkit followed more slowly, listening to Tawnykit quietly as she gazed around camp. Her sight fell on a fern-surrounded clearing by the rocky wall of camp. She muttered, "See ya later," to her littermates and trotted across the camp, poking her head through the ferns to the medicine clearing. "Hey, Shellkit!" called a white and calico she-cat with bright eyes.

"Hi, Flowerkit," she replied, smiling at her other sister.

"Did you need something?" Flowerkit asked, trotting over to a small crack in the wall, darting in and coming out with a pawful of herbs. "Wildclaw wanted me to get him some marigold and comfrey," she explained.

Shellkit smiled. "Are you sure you want to be Medicine Cat?" she asked.

Flowerkit nodded. "I really do," she replied honestly. Shellkit nodded and blinked as she watched her sister disappear into the medicine den. She turned and rejoined the other kits at the Nursery.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Shellkit woke to a large paw prodding her side. "C'mon, Shellkit," meowed her brother's voice. "Hawkstar's just called a meeting! I think Redkit, Mousekit and Tigerkit are gonna be made apprentices!" Shellkit got to her paws and followed her broad-shouldered, dark brown brother into the camp clearing. Tawnykit and Flowerkit were already sitting beside their parents, Thornfur and Leopardears, and Brightnose was still trying to make Tigerkit's fur stick flat. He struggled out from his mother's grasp and trotted up to sit with his brother and sister before the Highledge. Hawkstar's sleek brown pelt shown in the sunlight from atop of the Highledge.

"Mousekit, Redkit and Tigerkit have reached their sixth moon and from this day forward they will be known as Mousepaw, Redpaw and Tigerpaw," he began the ceremony. "Runningheart, Swifttalon was your mentor, and I hope you will pass on all she taught you to Mousepaw." Runningheart nodded, pride shining in his eyes as he stooped and touched noses with the pale brown tabby tom. Mousepaw stretched up on his black paws to meet his mentor. "Mossfoot," Hawkstar continued. "You are free to mentor another cat since your apprentice, Harepaw, was killed. Redpaw will be your apprentice." The silvery tabby she-cat's green eyes glazed with pain at remembering the apprentice who'd died, but she smiled down at the ginger she-cat as they touched noses. "And finally," continued Hawkstar. "Bramblestorm, you are a strong and brave warrior. You will mentor Tigerpaw."

The brown tabby warrior bent his head to touch noses with the dark brown tabby apprentice. Shellkit cheered with the rest of her Clan as they congratulated the apprentices by their new names. "Mousepaw! Redpaw! Tigerpaw!"

Later that evening, Leopardears shooed the kits away from the Nursery and had Flowerkit fetch Wildclaw. The ginger medicine cat raced to the medicine den, and Shellkit fell asleep while Thunderkit and Tawnykit played. After Moonhigh, Wildclaw and Leopardears came out of the Nursery. Leopardears told the kits they could go in now, but be quiet because Mudmask's kits had just been born. The kits nodded and entered the den. Shellkit and Flowerkit went and peered into Mudmask's nest, while Thunderkit and Tawnykit went to their nests to sleep.

Snuggled close to Mudmask's belly were two kits; a dark gray tabby kit with brown stripes and a white kit with silvery tabby stripes. "What are you going to name them?" Shellkit whispered to Mudmask. The brown and white she-cat blinked tiredly. "The dark gray will be Lakekit," she replied. "And the white and silver Lilykit." Shellkit nodded and she and her sister retreated to their nest and wriggled into place beside Tawnykit and Thunderkit, falling asleep.

The next day, Tawnykit begged Shellkit to climb the rocks near the elder's den with her. "It'll be fun," she promised.

Shellkit narrowed her eyes momentarily. "Alright," she consented. Tawnykit yipped in joy and scrabbled out of the Nursery with Shellkit on her heels. The bounded across the camp and skidded to a stop near the elder's den, where the rock-wall surroundng the camp was less steep. "I'll go first," Shellkit offered, stepping close to the rock. She placed a forepaw on the stone to test the sturdiness, then pushed herself up. She kept climbing in this fashion until she reached a small ledge, big enough for Tawnykit and her to stand on. She looked down at the tortoiseshell she-kit. "C'mon, Tawnykit," she called.

Tawnykit smiled and began to climb, but then Thornfur appeared from no where behind her. "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, picking Tawnykit up by the scruff. He turned to look up at Shellkit. "Come down from there," he ordered. "Leopardears will go crazy with panick if you get hurt."

Shellkit sighed but nodded in obedience. She bunched up her muscles and hurled herself down the rock, but her paws slipped and one of her hind claws got caught on the stone. She gave out a little cry of pain and landed with a thud at Thornfur's paws. Her father bent down and licked her gently. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Shellkit got to her paws shakily, favoring the hind paw. "My claw hurts," she whined.

The big brown warrior bent down and peered and her paw. "I think it is just a twisted claw," he told her. "But you'd better go see Wildclaw just in case. Do you want me to come with you?"

Shellkit shook her head. She'd been to the medicine den many times before to see Flowerkit, who spent almost all her time there. "I'll be fine," she assured him, limping towards Wildclaw's den. She pushed her way through the ferns and bumped into Flowerkit. "Where's Wildclaw?" she asked.

Flowerkit pointed her nose toward the deeper part of the den. "Clawbelly was complaining of a stomach ache," she explained. "And Wildclaw's giving him some juniper, I think."

Shellkit nodded and disappeared into the den. "Wildclaw?" she called to the dark ginger tom.

The medicine cat appeared. "What is it, Shellkit?" he asked gently.

"I hurt my paw when I was climbing on the rocks beside the elder's den," she explained. "Thornfur told me to come and have you look at it."

Wildclaw looked carefully at her paw. "It's fine," he told her. "Do you want a poppy seed to help with the pain?" Shellkit nodded and Wildclaw turned to his stores against the wall.

"Wildclaw?" she asked, watching him, and thinking about Flowerkit. "Have you ever wanted an apprentice?"

The ginger tom was silent for a few heartbeats, then returned to her with a poppy seed. She ate it while he sighed. "I suppose," he replied. "After all, I need someone to be the Medicine Cat after me, don't I?"

Shellkit nodded. "Well," she told him. "Flowerkit really wants to be your apprentice. She hardly talks about anything else, and she's always in here helping you."

Wildclaw fell into a shocked silence for a moment, deep in thought. "How about you go enjoy the rest of the sunny day?" he suggested. "After all, I think there might be some rain tomorrow."

Shellkit blinked at him then left the den. Wildclaw followed her out and waited until she disappeared into the Nursery, then trotted across to the Highledge, leaping up to speak with Hawkstar.


End file.
